Wednesday, August 13, 2008

"Going forward, the United States and Europe must support the people ofGeorgia. Beyond immediate humanitarian assistance, we must provideeconomic assistance, and help rebuild what has been destroyed. I haveconsistently called for deepening relations between Georgia andtransatlantic institutions, including a Membership Action Plan forNATO, and we must continue to press for that deeper relationship."

If Obama is trying to neutralize McCain's "better dead than Red" posturing, this isn't the way to do it. Statements like this make it look as though he's playing catch-up, and it smacks of that faux tough guy posturing Dems are usually laughed at for. Obama could still harshly criticize Russia without having to take Georgia's side. In fact, if we had to choose sides at all, it would be in our long-term strategic interest to re-solidify our relationship with Russia. As two former superpowers whose time in the limelight is rapidly drawing to a close, we're both going to need to work together to provide a counterbalance to China.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I won't pretend to be an expert on what is going on in the Caucuses, apart from what I've been consuming and digesting in recent days. One thing I will gladly point out though is the warnings that I and others issued about the perils of starting a needless, nay pointless, war in Iraq. By risking, and consequently severely damaging the United States' credibility on the world stage, Bush has all but rendered this nation impotent on grave matters such as the Russo-Georgia conflict. And there's no blue pill anywhere in site as long as BushCo - or McCain - is in charge.

As best as I can surmise, Bush, his cronies, and McCain, all had the stones to think that the US could sidle up alongside Russia's borders without expecting Momma Bear to growl and show some teeth and claws. By pushing NATO to accept Georgia as a member, the Bushies were thinking we'd have a stronger foot in the door in Eastern Europe. It looks like Putin is slamming that door on our toes, and there's not a damn thing we can do about it, thanks to our massive blunder in Iraq. As a consequence of Iraq, the price of oil has skyrocketed*, swelling the Russian coffers, while we're in debt up to our eyeballs. Because we are broke, and our military is stretched thin, and because we've made asses of ourselves through supporting King George's misadventures around the world, no one gives a crap about anything we say. All the more comical to watch Bush and Cheney and McCain huff and puff until they're red in the face, because that is all they can do. They can huff, and they can puff, and they can even throw a tantrum. But it will only succeed in highlighting just how weak they've succeeded in making the US.

What kind of signal do you suppose our ineffectiveness in this situation is sending to Taiwan and China? At this point, it seems to me that Taiwan might be feeling a bit more sheepish about declaring it's independence from China. For that matter, China might be a tad more interested in asserting its sovereignty over Taiwan, now that they are seeing quite clearly that the US under neo-con leadership is a limp noodle.

Click on the links above to read some interesting and salient perspectives on the situation in Georgia.

(*Yes, I know, there are many other factors affecting the price of oil)

Hopefully, our glorious leader won't get too big of a hard on and try to stand up to Russia over a matter of little real significance to our national security, but if my hunch is correct, King George won't be able to resist a parting "shot".